You should eat.
- Here’s a good primer from Team Speed Kills about how to get up to speed on CFB Twitterin’.
- “That’s when I saw a side of Coach Donnan I”d never seen before.” Sad.
- Allen Kenney ponders football scheduling.
- John Infante explains that Jim Delany’s vision for the restructuring of Division I makes a power conference split more likely.
- Could the SEC and Big 12 be the answers to each other’s scheduling questions?
- Pell Grants as a way to solve the cost of attendance issue?
- 5Dimes is starting to post odds on CFB regular season win totals.
- It seems that moving to Penn State has only added to James Franklin’s cockiness.
- “Palcohol is for adults who are tired of getting ripped off by airlines and stadium owners.” Hells, yeah!
Get The Picture 
Does anyone have a copy of Gruden killing Greg Robinson and Auburn for getting away with holding all season last night at the draft? The comment was something to the effect of Robinson’s technique is sloppy, he got away with holding that wasn’t called all year, he has to start working on his technique because ‘professional’ refs will throw the flag.
It was awesome.
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I don’t have a copy Irwin, but I can absolutely confirm that it was said.
What I found interesting was that, with the exception of JFF, Gruden’s contribution to the WWL’s draft coverage was to play devil’s advocate with every player. It seemed to me he did little but discuss the player’s shortcomings and how they would/could be exposed in the NFL.
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Probably has to do with the fact that coaches in the NFL don’t want prospects…they want players. But you’re right…Kiper vs. Gruden was scripted comedy at it’s best.
Anyway, there was film on Robinson…a couple plays against Bama, FSU, Mizzou, and UGA…against UGA it was on a pass play..
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So now ESPN pits Kiper vs. Gruden? ESPN really knows how to make a broadcast dreadful. I used to hate when they’d have that John Clayton “nerd” vs former QB Salisbury “the jock”. Seemed like a “I just kicked sand in your face” bit.
What happened to that McShay kid?
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James Franklin is the statesman that Penn State needs.
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Stay classy, Franklin. And Gruden’s piece about Robinson was spot on. Penn Wagers would like a word with Chuckie.
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Maybe Chuckie should have a word with Penn Wagers.
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Jim Donnan…forgotten but not gone…I wonder if somewhere Jasper Sanks has come to terms with his fumble (or not) against Tech…were it not for that and a couple of prominent alumni face slaps, Donnan might still be at work in the DawgMaHal.
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Oh I’m sure he wishes some people would forget about him. But that ain’t gonna happen.
“Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is and the tree is the real thing.”
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Two points on Donnan:
1) Got to know a former SEC player through our kids’ rec ball team and, based on his stories, the bond between players and coaches (at least with certain players) is still very strong many years later. Definitely could see how Donnan’s pull would be very strong.
2) That being said, unless the dude was investing in a bank, it’s hard to understand how anyone could thing their principal is guaranteed. Hate that they lost money.
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bank CDs or deposits, that is…
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Regarding the Donnan situation, I’ll simply say this: don’t try to get happier than happy. In Donnan’s case, he was living a very comfortable retirement/lifestyle that 99% of Americans would wish for, yet he just had to go and yearn for even more through a shady business dealing, in which he quickly dug a hole and made things continually worse for himself and others. The same applies to his investor friends, most (if not all) of whom were quite well off as well, hence Donnan’s pitch to them.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for business investment and acquiring wealth, but you should be smart about it and not get sucked into what clearly was your typical get rich (or richer) quick scheme. If my best friend came to be today and said he had a business opportunity in which I’m guaranteed X % of return, I’m going to take a long hard look at him and question our friendship.
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I haven’t seen any real evidence that Donnan is guilty, yet. Everybody is jumping on the guy because they (former friends and players) lost money but Donnan, himself, lost all his money and had to file a bankruptcy proceeding. Donnan didn’t run the ponzi scheme, Crabtree did. Crabtree was the mastermind and the Feds have let Crabtree plead out in exchange for testimony against the sexier defendant, Donnan. Once again the prosecutors appear to letting the real guilty guy get off, at least partly, to get headlines by prosecuting the “name” defendant to the fullest extent. I don’t know Donnan personally. Hell, I didn’t like him as a coach when he was at Georgia. But this smells. And that lawyer with the hat–I know that guy and wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. (Actually, he’s not a very big guy and I probably could throw him about 20 feet or so–and have felt like doing that a time or two.)
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*”Jurors also heard on Wednesday from Daniel Shoemaker, a retired ESPN executive from Huntington, West Virginia, who initially put Donnan and Crabtree in touch with each other. Crabtree had done construction work and odd jobs for him, and he’d known Donnan from the former coach’s days at Marshall University.
Shoemaker knew Crabtree had an auction business and that Donnan was always looking for projects in his retirement, he testified. He knew Crabtree to be careless in his business transactions and thought Donnan had good business sense, so he thought they might be a good match, Shoemaker testified.”
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When 5Dimes releases the win total o/u for the Dawgs, will it be 8.5 or 9? Tough bet either way. I am leaning towards the under on dirt number. And I really like the under with Auburn this season.
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I don’t know what to make of Auburn. They were certainly charmed last season. The way the won against a decimated UGA team was ridiculous and unless they are a lot stronger this year, I don’t see anything but revenge coming their way from UGA and Alabama and maybe a couple of other teams. But they MAY be a lot stronger than last year.
Clemson is another team that I expect to be a step behind what they did last year. These are two HUGE games on Georgia’s schedule so I hope I’m right about this.
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“I don’t know what to make of Auburn.”
Forget about ugly, it’s an outliar.
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Why do you believe that? I saw an Auburn team that improved week in and week out last season. They return a solid core from last year, and one would have to assume that the kids have a better understanding of the system Gus wants to run. Yes, two flukey plays fell into their lap, but the kids were in the right position. Sadly, I see Auburn as a team to worry about annually now.
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Skeptic, while I DO believe last year was an outliar for AU (they faced a really, really decimated Dawg team and had to have an act of the Almighty to win), I do agree that they are a force to be reconed with.
But believing Georgia’s 2013 season was ALSO an outliar (just uncanny injuries and poor prep on defense), I do expect Georgia to be even more improved than the AU team they should have beaten last year.
I feel like I have a better grasp (as I should..I read here every day) on what to expect from Georgia than from AU.
I feel like the SEC will be much improved top to bottom this year. Most teams should be improved with even Kentucky almost having to be a little better. Vandy is the only team I see digressing. I hope Florida digresses. I think Tennessee will be better, Alabama a little worse off but still very good and the Gamecocks to be their usual competitive selves under SS.
The rest of the SECW…Ark, LSU, Mst…I hear little about. Ole Miss is confident they will be very good..
I can’t hardly wait. I’m sky-high on Red Coolaid.
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Ug, the last 5 UGA seasons are 2009: 8-5; 2010: 6-7; 2011: 10-4; 2012: 12-2; 2013: 8-5. Do the math. The average number of wins for that period is 8.5. The outlier is the 12 win season.
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The average number of wins is 8.8888 to be exact.
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Why would James Franklin even find it necessary to talk trash? He must watch too much wrestling on TV. I hope Rutgers and Maryland stomp a mud-hole in Penn States ass.
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Penn State still has the NCAA sanctions to deal with, limited scholarships, etc. James Franklin needs to STFU before his mouth writes a check…(you know the rest). P.S. I hope he gets the shit kicked out of his team by EVERYBODY.
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Auburn will be better than last year, but the record may not show it. AU has South Carolina and UGA out of the east, and bama and UGA are both on the road. SEC west schedule is still tough with Ole Miss and Miss State (other two sec road games) improved. The Auburn offense is going to be hell to deal with.
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In Re Donnan
I ran into an acquaintance that was in the jury pool (luckily he got dismissed). He said Donnan looked totally defeated at the jury selection. An utterly broken man.
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You’d look that way too NM if the prosecution was trying to pin it all on you and had made a deal with the guy who was really guilty to testify against you.
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